Stating that the Communist movement had lost its biggest revolutionary of the era through the death of veteran Jyoti Basu, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said the five decades he had spent with Mr. Basu on the Polit Bureau of the party would remain the most cherished part of his life.
Talking to reporters here on Sunday after hearing the news of the demise of the former West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr. Achuthanandan said he had lost his “most precious” colleague and that Mr. Basu would forever remain an inspiring spirit to working class organizations across the world.
Describing Mr. Basu as the architect of modern West Bengal, Mr. Achuthanandan said, it was Mr. Basu, a founder leader of the CITU, who had stood as a motivational cornerstone with his leadership skills for the formation of the Third Alternative.
“His role in building the Communist Party of India (Marxist), in West Bengal after his return as a young barrister from abroad and across the country to mould the party as a force of national reckoning could not be ignored.
“As the longest serving chief minister of the country, Mr. Basu had lifted his State out of the pits of hunger, effectively implemented land reforms and made West Bengal self-reliant as far as electricity was concerned,” he recalled.
Noting that Mr. Basu was always an inspiration to the working class of Kerala, the chief minister added, “for generations to come, he would remain a motivational force.”
Recalling, he and Mr. Basu were among the 32 members of the National Council of the Communist Party who walked out of the council meeting following ideological struggles within the party in 1964, Mr.
Achuthanandan said his friend’s fight against the politics of revisionism would remain etched in his mind.
Mr. Achuthanandan said he would leave for Kolkata “on the first flight” on Monday and return only after the funeral of the departed leader.
